NORWALK -- Affordable housing, or lack thereof, in Norwalk dominated a League of Women Voters-organized community conversation with state legislators Saturday morning in the Norwalk Police Department community room.

The Rev. Nellie Mann kicked off the question-and-answer portion of the Norwalk branch of the League of Women Voters' (LWV) annual "Pie and Politics" conversation with a lengthy indictment of the current state of housing in the city, stating that rental prices are too high for the working class to live comfortably.

"I'm going to fight it until I get some change," Mann said.

State Rep. Bruce Morris, D-140, addressed Mann's concerns by stating that the state provides many financial incentives for developers to build affordable housing, and it's up to developers to take advantage of those incentives.

"The state has already provided the financial means through which developers can build affordable housing," said Morris. "They can't say the money isn't available."

State Rep. Lawrence Cafero, R-142, the house minority leader, agreed with Mann and asked what she would suggest to the state politicians. Mann replied that she wanted them to meet face-to-face with persons who are struggling to find affordable housing.

"I'm going to make the community come together, and we're going to fight you," Mann said.

Elsewhere, Cafero, Morris, state Sen. Bob Duff, D-25, and state Reps. Gail Lavielle, R-143, and Chris Perone, D-137, laid out their priorities. Lavielle steering Metro North in the right direction is one of her priorities.

"Everything is wrong with it, and there are problems everywhere," she said.

All of the politicians said creating and sustaining jobs in the area is high on their list of priorities. Perone said with federal contracts shrinking, the state needs to look at innovative ways to move forward.

Cafero said ensuring the state's fiscal health by lowering the deficit is a top priority for him.

"If we do it together and we do it right and we make the right choices, we could have a bright, bright future," he said.